Sometimes a shrub needs a new home. “When a shrub isn’t working where it is, you may be able to give it a new lease on life by transplanting it,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist in the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
There can be good reasons to transplant a shrub. It may no longer be getting enough sun because a tree has grown to shade it. You may have realized that it’s being damaged by winter salt applied to a sidewalk or driveway. When you planted it, you may have underestimated how large it would become, and now it doesn’t fit in. Or perhaps you have a need for screening elsewhere, and a shrub you have is a perfect solution.
Still, transplanting has its perils. “The plant will be stressed, and you’ll need to give it extra care for a couple of years,” Yiesla said. “It’s not something to do lightly.”
Before you decide to transplant, make sure the new site is suitable for the shrub. Research the conditions the plant species needs, particularly if it’s struggling in the current spot.
Consider whether you can handle transplanting a large shrub, especially if you’re working alone. “Many people underestimate how heavy a shrub can be,” Yiesla said. You may need a dolly to roll the shrub to its new site or a tarp so you can drag it across the lawn.
Dig the new hole first. “Digging will be much easier if you sharpen the shovel,” she said. Make the hole wide and not too deep, more like a saucer than a bucket. Pile the soil on a tarp nearby.
Then dig up the shrub. “It can be a big job, because you want to dig as large a root ball as you can,” Yiesla said.
Start by pushing your shovel vertically into the soil in a circle all around the shrub. For a young shrub, the circle should be at least 6 inches out from the base; for an established shrub, it may need to be as much as a foot out. The goal is to include as much of the plant’s root system as you can manage.
Then dig under the shrub. You may need to cut some big roots with pruners to get the shrub loose, but try to retain as many large long roots as you can..
Carefully lift or roll the root ball from the hole, keeping as much soil around the roots as you can. Cover the root ball in rags, burlap or a plastic tarp to prevent the roots from drying out as you move the shrub.
Set it in the center of the new hole, making sure the base of the shrub sits at the level of the surrounding soil, or a little bit higher. “Don’t bury it,” Yiesla said. “Planting too deep can keep the shrub from surviving.” Check that the shrub is standing straight, and fill around the root ball with the soil you dug from the hole.
Tamp the soil down and water the root ball generously. Spread a wide circle of mulch around the shrub in an even layer 3 to 4 inches deep.
You will need to water the shrub regularly for at least two full seasons of growth. “It needs help to regrow its roots, because when you dug it up, you cut off most of its root system,” Yiesla said. Don’t fertilize the shrub; that would push it to grow leaves at the expense of rebuilding its root system.
“The key is to think of a transplanted shrub as a new plant, even if you’ve had it for years,” she said. “It needs all the extra care you’d give to a plant you just bought at a nursery.”
For tree and plant advice, contact the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum (mortonarb.org/plantadvice, 630-719-2424 or [email protected]). Beth Botts is a staff writer at the Arboretum.